Event Details

Inaugural Flower City Pottery Invitational

OCtober 9-11, 2015 | Rochester, NY

Genesee Center for the Arts & Education is proud to welcome twenty premier ceramic artists from across the country for a long weekend celebrating the best in contemporary clay. The event includes a special artist reception, pottery exhibitions, demonstrations, workshops and talks by the visiting artists.

This is a unique opportunity for collectors, clay enthusiasts and anyone who appreciates finely-crafted, handmade work to meet and talk with masters of the field and see a large body of their work. Whether you prefer contemporary design or rustic tableware, hundreds of hand-crafted pots will be exhibited, and their makers will be on site to talk about and demonstrate their work. For those of you who are new to contemporary ceramics, this is the perfect opportunity to see the range of work being made with this extremely versatile material.

A little history

Planning for the Flower City Pottery Invitational began in early 2014 when area potters Matt Metz and Richard Aerni discussed bringing fellow esteemed ceramic artists together for a weekend exhibit, following the example of similar shows like the Old Church Pottery Invitational in Demarest, NJ and the popular American Pottery Festival in Minneapolis. Rochester seemed like the perfect city to hold a similar event, being in the middle of a clay mecca, with RIT's School for American Craft and Alfred University close by, as well as strong clay programs in Syracuse and Buffalo. Metz and Aerni have partnered with Genesee Center for the Arts & Education and, together with artist Peter Pincus, have invited colleagues from around the country to participate in the inaugural event.

Schedule

Thursday, October 8, 2015

Doug will demonstrate a variety of specialty techniques, including: thrown forms designed specifically for runny glazes, handles and spouts and their placement and attachment, inlay techniques, stencil, and texture applications, and latex/wax application and glaze/color placement.

Jenny will show her techniques for using underglazes to create her whimsical pots and figures. Participants will be provided with a leather-hard tile and will have a variety of underglazes to experiment with as Jenny leads a project.

Just added! Monday, October 12,

FRIDAY, October 9, 2015

6-8:30pm Champagne Preview Party

Join us for a special evening to welcome the exhibiting artists and have the first look at their stunning work. Remarks by FCPI curators Richard Aerni, Matt Metz and Peter Pincus. Hors d'Oeuvres and a champagne toast, cash bar. Tickets: $25 each.

Saturday, October 10, 2015

10-5pmExhibition open to the public all day (free admission)

11amArtist Talk by Tony Clennell: Production vs. One-Offs in China

12pmDemo by Mark Shapiro: Assembling a Teapot

1:30pmArtist Talk by Forrest Lesch-Middelton: His Process

3pmArtist Talk by Jenny Mendes

Sunday, October 11, 2015

11-4pmExhibition open to the public all day (free admission)

11:15amArtist Talk by Dan Finnegan: An English Country Pottery Travelogue

12:30pmArtist Talk by Liz Quackebush: History of Majolica

1:30pmDemo by Bryan Hopkins: Building with Porcelain slip-cast slabs

3pmDemo by Ryan Greenheck: Glazing and Surface Decoration

4pm Exhibition Closes

Plan Your Visit

Genesee Center for the Arts & Education is located just outside downtown Rochester, NY at 713 Monroe Avenue, less than 1/8 of a mile off the 490 Interstate. Monroe Avenue begins downtown at the Strong Museum and is an eclectic area of eateries and small shops. Local cultural and shopping attractions like The George Eastman House and the Park Avenue neighborhood are just blocks away.

The historic, brick firehouse building that houses Genesee Center for the Arts & Education dates to the early 1890s, with both stories dedicated to arts programming. On-street parking is available on Monroe and Wilcox Street, or visitors may park directly across Monroe at the Blessed Sacrament Church lot when it is available. Genesee Center for the Arts & Education is fully accessible for wheelchair users with two reserved parking spaces at the front of the building, a front entrance ramp, elevator and restroom.

Get Involved

None

Be A Volunteer

Whether you're super-organized and would like to help with set-up, or you're an empty nester with extra room to house a visiting artist for the weekend, we need your help!

Become a Sponsor

Sponsorship for the 2015 Flower City Pottery Invitational is available at various levels. Take a look at our Sponsorship Kit and contact Kate Whorton at (585) 271-5183 or ceramics@rochesterarts.org to confirm the level of support that fits best with your needs.